Method and apparatus for dusting insecticide and fungicide powders upon plants



June 1929- G. s. MESSINGER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DUSTING INSECTICIDEAND FUNGICIDE POWDERS UPON PLANTS 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed NOV. 28, 1927 un e W W W 6 z E G June '11, 1929. s N ER 1.716.970

' METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DUSTING INSECTICIDE 1 AND FUNGICIDE POWDERSUPON PLANTS Filed Nov. 28, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 i IA June 11., 1929. sMESSINGER 1.716.970

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DUSTING INSECTICIDE AND FUNGIGIDE POWDERS UPONPLANTS mk \\fi \j I GIMGI 5. Mesa/keen,

June '11, 1929. s ME$S|NGER I 1,716,970

METHOD AND APPARATUS FORDUSTING INSECTICIDE AND FUNGICIDE POWDERS UPONPLANTS Filed Nov. 28, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jmwntoc 6601966 5. "5-5suvsen;

Patented June 11, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE.

GIOBGE 8. 88111613, 0] TATAIY, rmmvmm.

METHOD AND APPARATUS I'OB DUBTING INSEGIICIJJE AND I'UNGIGIDE POWDIBSUPON PLANTS.

Application filed November 28, 1987. Serial ll'o. 880,896.

This invention relates'to the method and means for dusting or dryspraying insecticide and fungicide owders upon ground plants and trees,and aims generally to improve such methods and means.

Insect pests which destroy orchard or truck crops are grouped into twogeneralclasses: (1) those which suck the juices from the lant and whichma be most effectively com ated by gassin t em and $2) those which chewthe bu fruit, or foia e and which may be effectively combated ydepositing a suitable poison upon the plant or tree and thus kill theinsects. The principal method for successfully combating such pests isby dustinga poisonous powder upon the plant or tree, in the case .ofchewing insects, or by dustin a powder containing a poisonous gas for te sucking variety.

Powder dusters adaptable for the dusting or dry spraying of plants andtrees are of two mam varieties: ,(1) those which attempt to mix the dustwith the air at the discharge of the fan or blower and (2) those whichmix the dust with the air at the intake of the fan orblower.

Among the main aims and objects of my present invention is theimprovement of the method and machines of the latter type, abovedescribed, whereb the dust and air are uniformly mixed be ore the dustenters the fan or "blower chamber and are then more thoroughly mixedtherein, thus insuring a uniform deposit of dust upon a given area ofsurface-to be dusted; to discharge a well mixed dust cloud upon theplant at such high velocity, as to force the dust into every crevice ofthe plant foliage producing a uniform coatin of dust upon all portionsof the plant; an to provide for the proper uniform feeding of the dustfrom the hopper, and a uniform discharge from each of the nozzles, wheremore than one are used.

In the accom anying drawings, wherein I have selected or illustrativepurposes one form of apparatus, satisfactory for carrying out themethod, V

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the hopper, mixer and blower, parts ofthe housing being broken away better to illustrate the construction Fig.2 is a vertical central sectional view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a. detail pers the view of the agitator and force feed dgfice;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on a line at right angles tothe plane of Fi .2;

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view'o the fan and mixin stirrer;

Fig. 6 is a etail sectional view taken on lme 6-6 of Fig. 2 showing thehopper feed bottom;

Fig. 7 is a distributor; an

Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the distributor.

The construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings as embodyingthe principles of my invention, consists of a hopper, mixing chamber,fan and discharge nozzle, which when assembled, may be mounted, in andesirable manner, upon a portable frame suitable for the purpose, suchas a wheeled cart, tractor or other vehicle. The particular type ofvehicle, upon which the mixer and blower is mounted, is not material tothe proper understanding of the invention, as, for instance, it may bemounted upon an animal drawn wheeled carriage and driven by means of achain trained over a sprocket on one of the wheels, as is common in theart, or it may be mounted upon a motor propelled vehicle, and driveneither from the vehicle motor or by a separate motor as desired, itbeing understood, that the machine is adapted to be trans orted anddriven in a variety of ways suitab e for the particular work to be doneand circumstances prevailing.

The housing or casing 10 of my improved mechanism may be constructed inone or more parts dependin upon the size and capacity of the machine,and is preferably (plan view of the multiway shaped so as toprovide ahopper 11 for the powder, a mixing chamber 12 and a fan plhamber 13. Intliieapmbodmelllit shown, the

opper is arrange ongsi e t e up 1- tion of the fan chamber and directl yve the mixing chamber, the latter extending laterally from the fanchamber and axially thereof.

The hoppg 11 is preferably formed with an arcuate ttom portionlisrovided with an opening 15, which is cove by a smooth arcuate bottomplate 16, formed with a discharge openi 18 within the opening 15. Oneedge 19 o the opening 18, (see Fig. 2)

is formed with. a-knife edge and is adapted to co-operate with the forcefeed device referred to later. Regulation of the amount of powderdischarged from the hopper through the opening 18 into the mixingchamber 12, may be made by means of an adjustable feed slide 21, mountedin guideways 22 and movable by means of a rod 23, said slide having aV-shaped opening 24 therein arranged to cooperate with the knife edge 19of the discharge opening 18. The amount of powder discharged from thehopper into the mixing chamber, is regulated by the length of the edge19 of the opening 18 that is uncovered by the feed slide 21. Hence, itis evident thatas the slide 21 is adjusted toward the edge 19', theconverging edges of the V-shaped opening 24 decrease the effective widthof the opening 18 at the edge 19 and thus decrease the discharge intothe mixing chamber.

For the purpose of maintaining a uniform feeding or discharge of powderfrom the hopper 11 into the mixing chamber 12, I have provided a forcefeed device 20, secured to a shaft 25mounted for rotation within thebottom portion of the hopper 11, and adapted to be driven at acomparatively slow speed through the sprocket directly or indirectlyfrom any suitable source of.

power available. The force feed device illustrated herein, includes aspider 27 having four feeding or wiping arms 28 attached or formed onthe ends of the spider arms, each of said arms being angularly disposedwith respect to the axis of the shaft 25, and the alternate arms beingdisposed at opposite angular inclinations.

' Projecting laterally and slightly forwardly from the advanced end ofeach arm 28 is a gathering arm 29, the arrangement permitting of thegathering of the powder from the sides of the hopper, and sweeping ittoward and across the discharge opening 18. Each of the arms 28 isfurtherprovided on its forward face with a wiping element 30 of leatheror other suitable material adapted for coaetion with the knife edge 19of the opening 18. As will be apparent, the angular disposition of thearms 28 will feed the powder, first from one side of the hopper towardthe opening, and then from the other side, insuring an adequate supplyof powder to the mixing chamber, as long as any powder remains in thehopper. Furthermore, a uniform discharge of powder into the mixingchamber is assured.

As the powder is discharged from the hopper, it enters the mixingchamber 12, where it is thoroughly mixed with air. As pointed out above,the mixing chamber is in communication, at one end, with the fan chamber13, axially thereof, and as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, is open at theopposite end, said open end constituting an air inlet for .within themixing chamber 12. As shown in Fig. 5, the mixing stirrer 35 mayadvantageously be made of a single piece of metal bar material bent torectangular shape, the end-portions thereof passing through apertures inthe shaft, so that the mixing stirrer may be secured to the shaft.

. The blower, comprising in the form illushated the fan member 34 andchamber 13,

is preferably of the centrifugal type, having an axial inlet through themixing'chamber 12 and a tangential peripheral discharge outlet 36. SeeFigs. 1 and 2. The" fan and stirrer shaft 31 is driven from any suitablesource of power, advantageously from the same source as the shaft 25,through suit-able speed increasing gearing (not shown), .and preferablythe fan shaft is rotated at a speed greatly in excess of the speed ofrevolution of the shaft 25. I find that best results are obtained whenthe fan shaft is driven atv not less thanv 3000 R. P. M., thusdischarging a' current of air at high velocity necessary to penetrateeach crevice of the plant and apply a uniform coating of dustupon eachpart of the plant. v

In the dusting of truck crops, such as potatoes, cotton and like plants,it is desirable to direct the dust blast against the plants fromopposite sides, and in some instances 1 from opposite sides and fromabove the plants. For this purpose I have provided a distributor 37adapted to be suitably secured directly to the discharge outlet 36 ofthe blower (see Fig. 1) and to uniformly distribute the dust and airfrom the blower to a plurality of nozzles (not shown) as will be readilunderstood by those skilled in the art. In igs. 7 and 8 I have shown amultiway distributor, adapted to distribute uniformly, both as to volumeand velocity, the contents'of the discharge into eight sepa- I rateoutlets 38. I

As shown, the distributor 37 is preferably in the form of a fan-shapedcasing, advantageously formed of upper and. lower half sections, boltedtogether (see Fig. "1). The inlet end 39 of the distributor is of a sizeand shape to correspond to the size and shape of the fan dischargeoutlet 36, and the distributor is so shaped that the combined areas ofthe discharge outlets 38 closely approximate the area of the inlet end39. The distributor casing is divided into a plurality of passagesleading to the outlets 38 by a as at the nozzles, as is a commonpractice,

plurality of relatively long vanes or divisions 40, and intermediateshorter vanes or divisions 41, each of the vanes or divisions 40 and 41having their innermost ends curved slightly toward the central axis ofthe distributor, so as better to divide and distribute the dust blastfrom the center thereof which is of the highest velocity.

When it is desired to dust 'or dry spray grown trees and the like, thedistributor 37 is dispensed with and a single hose and nozzle (notshown) is connected to the discharge outlet 36. By reason of the highvelocity of the dust blast discharged from the blower, it is possible tothrow a dust spray over eighty feet high thereby fully to cover treeswith a film of dust.

In order to prevent arching of the powdered material within the hopper,as experienced when certain kinds of insecticide and fungicide powdersare used, I may provide an agitator 42 mounted for rotation in thehopper above the feeding mechanism 20, and adapted to be driven from anysuitable source, as for instance, b a chain 43 and sprockets 44 from thesha t 25. Thus a constant and generous supply of powder for the feeder20 is insured.

According to. my improved method, which is advantageously carried outbyapparatus of the type shown and described herein, the insecticideorfungicide dust or powder, which is very fine, varying from powderwhich will pass 100% through a 100 mesh per inch screen to a powderwhich will pass through a 300 to 380 mesh er inch screen, is uniformlyfed to the mixing chamber 12 by the wiping action of the inclined bladesof the force feed device over the discharge outlet 18 in the hopper 11.The powder enters the mixing chamber '12 in a thin continuous stream,where it is immediately thoroughly and uniformly mixed by the stirrerrotating at high speed with air drawn into the mixing chamber 12 by thefan. The air and dust, thus uniformly 1nixed,is drawn into the fan anddischarged through the single discharge outlet 36 or through the out,-lets 38 of the distributor. Proper adjustment of the feed bottom slidepermits of regulating the amount of dust per acre of surface covered.

When it is desirable to distribute the blast from the blower through aplurality "of nozzles (not shown) I preferably directly connect thedistributor, see Fig. 7 to the discharge outlet of the blower. I findthat much better results are obtained by this method than when thematerial is distributed at a point removed from the blower,

In thus distributing the material at the blower outlet, I avail myselfof all of the advantages of the blower in assisting in the thoroughmixing of the air andv dust, and

avoid such differences in velocity as are experienced when thedistributor is removed from the blower, and connected thereto by aflexible hose.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. The method of dusting or dry spraying insecticide or fungicidepowders which con- I sists in uniformly delivering a predeterminedquantity of powder into a mixing chamber, thoroughly mixing such powderwith air in said chamber, drawing such mixed powder and air into ablower and forcibly discharging it therefrom at a high velocity anddirecting such discharge blast upon the plant or tree to be dusted orsprayed.

2. The method of dusting or dryspraying insecticide or fungicide powderswhich consists in forcibly feeding and uniformly de-' livering apredetermined quantity of powder into a mixing chamber, thoroughlymixing such powder with air in said chamber, drawing such mixed powderand air into a blower and forcibly dischargingit therefrom at a highvelocity and directing such discharge blast upon the plant or tree to bedusted or sprayed.

. 3. The method of dusting or dry spraying insecticide or fungicidepowders which consists in uniformly delivering a predetermined quantityof powder into a mixing chamber, thoroughly stirring and mixing suchpowder with air in said chamber, drawing such mixed powder and air intoa blower and forcibly discharging it therefrom at a high velocity anddirecting such discharge blast upon the plant or tree to be dusted orsprayed. Y

4. The 'method of dusting or dry spraying insecticide or fungicidepowders upon plant life which consists in uniformly delivering aregulated amount of powder into a mixing chamber, thoroughly stirringsuch powder and mixing it with a large volume of air to produce a finesuspension of dust, drawing the mixed dust and air into a blower andforcibly discharging it therefrom at a high velocity, and equallydistributing the suspension mto a plurality of channels immediately asit is discharged from the blower.

5. The method of dusting or dry spraying insecticide or fungicidepowders upon plant life which consists in'uniformly delivering aregulated amount of powder into a mixing chamber, thoroughly stirringsuch owder and mixing it with a large volume 0 air to produce a finesuspension of dust, accelerating the velocity of the mixed air and dust,distributing the air and dust equally into a plurality of channels anddirecting the dust upon the plant at a sufficiently high velocity sothat it will penetrate each crevice of the foliage and plant.

6. A dusting machine for preparing highly pulverulent insecticide andfungicide powders ready for application to plant life, comprising ahopper, a mixing chamber below the hopper, provided with an air inletand with means for mixing air and powder passing therethrou'gh a bloweradjacent the hopper and mixing chamber and having communication with thelatter axially thereof to provide an axial'inlet for air into theblower, a tangentially disposed periphe'al discharge for the blower, andmeans for uniformly feeding a regulated amount of powder from the hopperinto the mixing chamber.

7 A dusting machine for preparing highly pulverulent insecticide andfungicide powders ready for application to plant life, comprising ahopper, a mixing chamber below the hopper, provided with an air inletand with means for mixing air and powder passing therethrough, abloweradjacent the hopper and mixing chamber and having communication with thelatter axially thereof to provide an axial inlet for air into theblower, a tangentially disposed peripheral discharge .for the blower,and rotary means for uniformly feeding a regulated amount of powder fromthe hopper into the mixing chamber.

8. A dusting machine for preparing highly pulverulent insecticide andfungicide powders ready for application to plant life, comprising ahopper, mixing chamber and blower. arranged in the order named, saidmixing chamber being open ended and constituting an axial inlet for saidblower, a combined agitator and feeding device rotatably mounted in saidhopper, amixing device rotatably mounted in said mixing chamber, meansfor rotating said feeding and mixing devices, and means for regulatingthe amount of powder fed from said hopper to said mixing chamber.

9. A dusting machine for preparing highly pulverulent insectitude andfungicide powders ready for application to plant life, comprising ahopper, mixing chamber and blower arranged in the-order named, saidmixing chamber being open ended and constituting an axial inlet for saidblower and being provided with means whereby to uniformly mix air andpowder passing therethrough, the bottom of the hopper being of arcuateshape and provided with a feeding outlet therein leading to said mixingchamber, and feeding means rotatably mounted in said hopper adapted touniformly feed' the powder across and into the outlet alternat-ely fromopposite sides thereof.

10. A dusting machine for preparing highly pulverulent insecticide andfungicide powders ready for application to plant life,

' comprising a hopper, mixing chamber and blower arranged in the ordernamed, said mixing chamber being open ended and constituting an axialmlet for said blower and being provided with'means whereby to uniformlymix air and powder passing therethrough, the bottom of the hopper beingof arcuate shape and provided with a feeding outlet therein leading tosaid mixing chamber, and feeding means rotatably mounted in said hopperadapted to uniformly feed the powder across and into the outletalternately from opposite sides thereof, and means for regulating thesize of said outlet and the amount of powder fed theret-hrough.

11. A dusting machine for preparing highly pulverulent insecticide andfungicide powders ready for application to plant life, comprising ahopper, .mixing chamber and blower arranged in the order named, saidmixing chamber being 0 en ended and constituting an axial inlet for saidblower and being provided with means whereby to uniformly mix air andpowder passing therethrough, the bottom of the hopper being of arcuateshape and provided with a feeding outlet therein leading to said mixingchamber, a combined agitator and feeder rotatably'mounted in said hopperhaving a plu- 'ality of angularly disposed agitating feeding bladesangularly disposed with respect to the axis of the feeder, alternateblades being oppositely inclined with respect to the axis of the feederwhereby to uniformly feed the powder across and into the outletalternately from opposite sides thereof.

12. In a dusting machine for preparing highly pulverulent insectitudeand fungicide powders ready for application to plant life, thecombination of apparatus for uniformly feeding the pulverulentmaterial,including a hopper and a chamber below and communicatingtherewith through a feed opening, a material feeding member rotatablymounted in the hopper and having a plurality of angularly disposedperipheral feeding blades, the alternate blades being oppositelyinclined whereby to feed the material uniformly across and into theopening from opposite sides thereof, said chamber having an inlet forair and an outlet, a blower communicating with said outlet, and means insaid chamber for uniformly mixing powder and air fed through saidchamber to supply a uniform suspension of powder in air to said blower.

13. In a dusting machine for preparing highly pulverulent insecticideand fungicide powders ready for application to plant life, thecombination of apparatus for uniformly feeding the pulverulent material,including a hopper and a chamber below and communicating therewiththrough a feed opening, a material feeding member rotatably mounted inthe hopper and having a plurality of angularly disposed peripheralfeeding blades, the alternate blades being oppositely inclined wherebyto feed the material uniformly across and into the opening lit) fromopposite sides thereof, said chamber having an inlet for air and anoutlet, a blower communicating with said outlet, and means in saidchamber for uniformly mixing powder and air fed through said chamber tosupply a uniform suspension of powder in air to said blower and meansfor adjusting the effective width of said opening thereby to regulatethe rate' of flow of material therethrough. I

14. A dusting machine for preparing highly pulverulent insecticide andfungicide powders ready for application to plant life, comprising ahopper, mixing chamber and blower arranged in the order named, saidmixing chamber being open ended and constituting an axial inlet for saidblower, means in said hopper for forcibly and uniformly feeding materialtherefrom into said mixing chamber, a shaft rotatably mounted axially ofthe blower and mixing chamber, a fan on the shaft within the blowerchamber, a stirrer on the shaft within the mixing chamber, and means forrotating said shaft at a relatively high speed whereby the powderentering the mixing chamber is thoroughly mixed with and suspended in acurrent of air drawn through the open end of the mixing chamber and intothe blower.

15. A dusting machine for preparing highly pulverulent insecticide andfungicide powders ready for application to plant life, comprising ahopper, mixing chamber and blower arranged in the order named, saidmixing chamber being open ended and constituting an axial inlet for saidblower, means in said hopper for forcibly and uniformly feeding materialtherefrom into said mixing chamber, a shaft rotatably mounted axially ofthe blower and mixing chamber, a fan on the shaft within the blowerchamber, a stirrer on the shaft within the mixing chamber, and means forrotating said shaft at a relatively high speed whereby the powderentering the mixing chamber is thoroughly mixed with and suspended in acurrent of air drawn through the open end of the mixing chamber and intothe blower, a discharge outlet for the blower, and means connected withsaid discharge outlet for uniformly distributing the air and powderdischarged therefrom into a plurality of separate passages.

16. In a dusting machine in combination, a hopper for highly pulverulentdusting powder, a chamber below and communicating therewith through afeed opening and having an air inlet and a discharge outlet, said feedopening having one edge thereof formed as a knife edge, a materialfeeding member rotatably mounted in the hopper and having a plurality ofangularly disposed peripheral feeding blades the alternate blades beingoppositely inclined and each of said blades being provided with yieldingwiping members adapted for cooperation with the knifed edge of saidopening, thereby to feed the material thereacross and maintain uniformpositive feed of the same to said chamber on continuous operation ofsaid feeding member, a blower connected to said discharge outlet to drawair through said chamber, and means in said chamber to mix the uniformlydelivered pulverulent material with the air to supply a uniformsuspension of powder in air to said blower.

17. In a dusting machine in combination, a hopper, a chamber below andcommunicating therewith through a feed opening and having an air inletand a discharge outlet, said feed opening having one edge thereof formedas a knife edge, a material feeding member rotatably mounted in thehopper and having a plurality of angularly disposed peripheral feedingblades the alternate lades being oppositely inclined whereby to feedpulverulent material uniformly across and into the opening from oppositesides thereof and each of said blades being provided with yieldingwiping members adapted for cooperation with the knife edge of saidopening, means including a slide having a V-shaped opening facing saidknifed edge for adjusting the effective width of said opening thereby toregulate the rate of flow of material therethrough, a blower connectedto said discharge outlet to draw air through said chamber, and means insaid chamber to mix the uniformly delivered pulverulent material withthe air to supply a uniform suspension of powder in air to .said blower.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE S. MESSINGER.

